1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to window cleaning blades for transportation devices and in particular to a combined wiper/scraper blade having two opposing contacting edges and a liquid applying sponge-like washer between the edges for combined wiping, scraping and washing of windows.
2. Background Art
One of the most annoying and at times very hazardous conditions of any transportation means is obscured or completely blocked visibility through the windows. Hard rain, snow, ice, bugs, road dirt and other visibility impeding matter pile up on the windshield and other windows.
Current blades provide solely a wiping function and are generally fabricated of resilient rubber with the primary intended use of wiping the window clear of a moderate amount of rain and possibly very tiny particles which might be dissolved or suspended in the rain. The rubber blades do not perform well in heavy downpours of rain and generally fail to remove any ice or caked-on snow, bugs, dirt or other debris unless a considerable amount of liquid is squirted on the window to dissolve the solid particles, and melt frozen coatings. Usually in severe weather conditions, the windows must be scraped by hand to remove the offending matter.
Windows of road vehicles, trains and boats present a great hazard when blocked for visibility, often requiring the stopping of the transportation means to scrape off the window. Aircraft are especially hazardness when windows are coated with vision-obscuring matter, because it is not possible to stop the aircraft in mid-air to scrape the windows.
Conventional window washers provide a simple squirting means to direct liquid onto the window surface and rely simply on the wiping action of the blade to clean the window surface.
Conventional wiper blades deteriorate very rapidly and often don't function well under speed because the wind tends to lift the blades away from the surface of the window.
When weather conditions are moderate with a light rain, conventional rubber wiper blades tend to create a very annoying squeaking sound on the window because the light rain is not sufficient lubrication between the blade and the window.